The recently passed living wage referendum is still in dispute as of Friday. Those promoting the initiative feel that it is legally binding, while the administration said that the referendum is merely advisory.
Student Labor Action Coalition member Ashok Kumar said the initiative is legally binding. He said he believes the ruling in the UW Board of Regents v. Southworth by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 gives the students the ability to determine how segregated fees are spent, without regard to whether the fees are allocable or nonallocable.
He said students are not trying to determine wages at the university, but rather to make university units pay their student employees a certain wage if they want student seg fees.
But Vice Chancellor of Academic Staff Darrell Bazzell said the Chancellor John Wiley takes the student vote seriously.
""[The Chancellor] will certainly consider it, but historically the budget process has been pretty clear,"" he said.
Bazzell also said while students do determine how allocable seg fees are spent, they do not have that right with nonallocable seg fees.
""That's the way SSFC has approved and advised on the budget each and every year,"" Bazzell said.
Another point of contention is how the living wage referendum would be paid for if it were carried through. The estimated cost of raising the wages of all student employees at the three nonallocable seg fee units—University Health Services, Union South and Recreational Sports—is approximately $823,000.
Kumar said he thinks cutting administrative overhead or raising fees for events could pay for costs.
""Where the money comes from is not the concern of us, we're giving out this money,"" Kumar said. ""Charge more for a Paul Bunyan burger, I don't really care. This is legal and it passed, and they should abide by it.""
The legality of the issue also comes into play when viewing the shared governance role students have at the university. The administration views the language in such statutes to give no power to students to set wage policy or requirements for university employees.
Kumar said he believes that the shared governance role afforded to students favors the referendum. When asked if this disagreement could lead to a possible court case, Kumar declined comment.
While the fate of the referendum will be largely decided by ASM, ASM Chair Dylan Rath made it clear ASM Student Council has not yet taken a position in regards to the living wage initiative.
